Wet, wild USC victory over Syracuse

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – USC quarterback Matt Barkley ran over to the stands to share a moment with his parents. His teammates signaled "Fight On" while the band played "Conquest." It felt, for all intents and purposes, like a typical Trojans victory.

It was anything but.

Barkley tied his school record with six touchdown passes but threw for only 187 yards. The venue, MetLife Stadium, was less than half full. Oh, and the game was delayed for more than an hour because of inclement weather.

"It was a weird environment," USC coach Lane Kiffin said.

His team survived it, holding off a game Syracuse squad, 42-29, in front of an announced crowd of 39,507. The Trojans (2-0) didn't always look like the second-ranked team in the nation, but they did enough to win.

"This was a good team we were playing and not an easy situation to come play in," Kiffin said. "There wasn't a whole lot of energy. There were a lot of reasons they could've not performed well."

The biggest reason was the weather delay. About two minutes before the start of the second half, at 5:16 p.m. local time, referee Terry Leyden ordered the teams off the field because of lightning in the area. Fans were required to take shelter as well as black clouds hovered over the stadium. The delay lasted 1 hour, 9 minutes.

Officials had informed Kiffin before the game that it could be delayed sometime in the second half. He did not inform the players of that possibility to keep them focused on the game. (One player did know: the ever-prepared Barkley, who found out from the referee beforehand.)

The Trojans spent most of their time in the locker room relaxing. They took off their shoulder pads and cleats and put on dry shirts. Barkley said he put his headphones on and his feet up.

"Like a bunch of guys taking a nap," special teams coach John Baxter said of the locker-room vibe. "It was really low-key. Our head coach preaches about saving energy. Our guys did a great job. We save our energy for the battle."

While the players chilled, the coaches went over the game plan. The offense had been inconsistent in the first half, failing to score in the first quarter before Barkley threw a pair of touchdown passes in the second. The defense had been stellar against a team that had passed for 482 yards the previous week before surrendering a half-ending field goal.

"I thought our coaches did a great job, and the players responded," Kiffin said. "They had a lot of energy coming out. ... It was almost like a new game."

The second half barely resembled the first. USC's offense played a lot better, scoring 28 points, but the defense played worse, yielding 26.

It was a special teams play that shifted the tide.

With the score 21-16 in USC's favor early in the fourth quarter, the Trojans forced the Orange (0-2) to punt. Robert Woods, subbing for a winded Nickell Robey, returned Jonathan Fisher's 39-yard boot 31 yards to the Syracuse 22. Three plays later, Barkley connected with Xavier Grimble for a touchdown to make it 28-16.

"Coach Kiffin and Coach Baxter gave me an opportunity," Woods said. "Thank God for the opportunity."

The junior receiver wasn't finished. After the defense forced another punt, USC took over at its 20-yard line. Woods took a pitch on a reverse and weaved his way downfield for 76 yards to the Syracuse 4. Two plays after that, Barkley connected with Marqise Lee for the second of their three TD hookups.

Woods, a Biletnikoff Award finalist in 2011, was slow to recover from ankle surgery during the offseason and had a relatively quiet first week. His teammates never doubted him.

"We have total faith in Robert," Grimble said. "That's just the type of guy Robert is. He's got so much heart, so much determination."

Despite improving to 2-0, the Trojans are determined to get better. They have yet to play their "A" game.

A week after offensive players gave themselves grades in the C range, safety T.J. McDonald, unprompted, gave the defense a C-minus Saturday.

"We've got a lot of improving to do," McDonald said. "To be that top defense we know we can be, we can't play like that."